•Kibicho expressed satisfaction with the renovations that he described as ‘95 percent complete.’ Holding the national celebrations at Uhuru Gardens will be a deviation from the tradition of marking the day at the Nyayo National Stadium.
•10,000 people will be in the public grounds while a 1000 will be in the dais.
Only 11,000 invited guests will be allowed into Uhuru Gardens during this year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations, Interior PS Karanja Kibicho has said.
Kibicho said 10,000 people will be in the public grounds while a 1000 will be in the dais at the venue that has undergone major renovations.
In a statement on Friday, the PS, who chairs the National Celebrations Committee said although the participants will be more than three times those invited to Mashujaa Dayin Wanguru stadium in Kirinyaga County last month, concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic discouraged the invitation of more people to the event.
"In adherence to the containment measures, we will allow only 10,000 people in the public sitting area, and around 1,000 in the main dias. Invitations will be done through our usual systems [Nyumba Kumi and the NGAOs structure] to ensure that there is equal participation and fair representation by all classes," the PS said.
He was speaking after leading the National Celebrations Committee on an inspection tour of the reconstructed gardens which has been closed for civil works for almost a year.
The PS expressed satisfaction with the renovations that he described as ‘95 percent complete.’ Holding the national celebrations at Uhuru Gardens will be a deviation from the tradition of marking the day at the Nyayo National Stadium.
He revealed that the National Celebrations Committee and other stakeholders will meet over the weekend to decide on whether parallel Jamhuri Day celebrations will be marked in the counties across the country as was the practice before the pandemic. Interior PS, Dr. (Eng.) Karanja Kibicho, has said this will be based on a review of the current dynamics of the virus and the capacity to handle all potential eventualities.
“Ordinarily, since the beginning of the pandemic in our country, we have been holding just one celebration, which is presided over by the Head of State, while others are advised to watch on TV. We are not out of the woods yet. We will be making that decision this weekend,” he said.